Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.10.2017, Page 36

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Music
The Sigur rós-curated
Norður og Niður festival—to
be held at Harpa over the
Christmas period from December
27-30—has released more names for
the lineup. Joining such luminaries as
Jarvis Cocker, Dan Deacon and Kevin
Shields will be ambient-techno star
Blanck Mass, Hot Chip’s Alex Taylor, and
Icelandic artists Jóhann Jóhansson,
JFDR, Kristín Anna, Mammút, Kjartan
Hólm, and the three way collaboration
of Sin Fang, sóley and Örvar Smárson.
Sigur rós tickets, four day passes and
all-inclusive travel packages are on
sale now.
The Bedroom Community label is
getting busy. As well as the release
of Ben Frost’s stellar new album ‘The
Centre Cannot Hold’ (more about this
on page 38), label head honcho Valgeir
Sigurðsson has announced a series of
European live dates. He’ll take his latest
LP, ‘Dissonance’, to London on October
7, the Semibreve Festival in Portugal on
October 29, and the North Opera in the
UK city of Leeds on November 29. Stay
tuned for further Airwaves-related/
Iceland-based BedCom live announce-
ments later in the year.
Iceland Airwaves has announced a
further expansion into the northern
part of the country this year. As well
as a choice selection of Airwaves
performers playing in Iceland’s second
city of Akureyri over the festival period,
the latest addition is a one-off event
called Earthwaves, to be held in the
blissful environs of the Mývatn Nature
Baths. If you want to see the decidedly
unchill rapper Emmsjé Gauti and rap
producer/DJ Young Nazareth whilst
bobbing around in warm, milky water,
tickets are on sale now. JR
MUSIC
NEWS
The Alchemist
Composer
Úlfur Hansson explores sound and music
on ‘Arborescence’
Words: Björn Halldórsson Photo: Elísabet Davíðsdóttir
When it comes to music, it seems
like Úlfur Hansson has tried his
hand at just about everything. He
has toured with some of Iceland's
foremost musicians, built his own
instruments, composed music for
the Icelandic Symphonic Orchestra
and Kronos Quartet, and taken
home the 2013 Young Composer of
the Year Award from the Interna-
tional Rostrum of Composers.
A lesser known aspect of his ca-
reer might be his role in the Icelan-
dic hardcore scene. “My roots are in
hardcore and death metal," he says,
with a grin. “The hardcore scene in
Iceland in the early 2000’s was con-
structive, educational and inspir-
ing. I don't really know what it's like
now, but I hope there's something
similar around for kids who are into
extreme music.”
Different facets
of music
Despite his two existing solo al-
bums, Úlfur’s multifaceted ap-
proach is perhaps nowhere more
evident than on his latest album,
‘Arborescence,’ which was produced
by Randall Dunn of Sunn O))), and
will come out on November 3 on the
recently established figureight label.
“I wanted to tie together the dif-
ferent facets of music that interest
me,” says Úlfur. “Electronic music,
classical, metal, improvisation, and
my voice. I felt the need to address
all these elements, once and for all.
I've been juggling a
lot of different forms
in the past ten years,
and fusing them to-
gether in one album
feels liberating and exciting.”
Úlfur speaks highly of the fam-
ily ambiance that dominates the
figureight studio, which provides a
collaborative atmosphere for artists,
while allowing them to stand singu-
larly behind their own music. “Being
a part of a collective like figureight is
doubly important when you're a solo
artist,” Úlfur says. “It’s a nourish-
ing community, with the studio as a
home base. It's important to feel at
home in the studio, so you can use it
as an instrument rather than just a
place to record.”
Some aspects of ‘Arborescence’
were in fact improvised in the stu-
dio, which Úlfur admits can be a
high-pressure environment. “You
need to make decisions right then
and there,” he says. “Me and Ran-
dall would strive to find the bal-
ance between carefully orchestrat-
ed events and whatever the studio
ghosts would have to offer. That sort
of amalgamation is something we
seem to do very well together.”
The alchemical
dimensions of
composition
Another side of Úlfur's explorations
of sound has been his work as an
instrument maker, which has re-
ceived funding from RANNÍS (The
Icelandic Centre for Research) and
led to the creation of the Segulhar-
pa (The Electromagnetic Harp)—an
electro-acoustic harp that manip-
ulates acoustic vibrations through
complex analog circuitry.
“That came from the other half
of my brain,” says Úlfur. “The re-
sults of my experiments with the
Segulharpa can be heard all over
the [new] album. There are a bunch
of other gadgets that are welded,
wired and taped to-
gether until they look
like piles of spaghetti.
A lot of those things
never passed the pro-
totype phase, but they still make
some amazing sounds. I'm heavily
invested in sound, not just music.
Creating and using my own sounds
opens up an alchemical dimension
to the writing process and offers me
a much deeper connection with the
music I make.”
Gaukurinn
bar & live venue
TRYGGVAGATA 22
6/10 (Fri): Mighty Bear / KRÍA /
Skaði / SEINT - Free entry
7/10 (Sat): Nýríki Nonni (album
release concert) - Free entry
11/10 (Wed): Underground Film
Festival - 1000 ISK
12/10 (Thu): InZeros / Exile /
Atomstation – Free entry
13/10 (Fri): Funk Friday with Rót at
22, KARAOKE PARTY at midnight
Free entry all night
14/10 (Sat): Nashville Pussy (USA),
Brain Police – 2500 ISK
18/10 (Wed): Burlesque Show: “Ladies
and a gentleman” – 2900 ISK
19/10 (Thu): 80’s Music & Dance
show & party – Free entry
www.gaukurinn.is
STANDUP COMEDY
in English every Monday
KARAOKE PARTY
every Tuesday
Free entry and starts at 21 both nights
We are very queer
friendly, open and
diverse. And we have
Vegan cocktails.
HAPPY HOUR
every day
from 14 to 21
Huge variety of CONCERTS,
DRAG SHOWS twice a month
and all sorts of other events!
gpv.is/music
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Several Úlfurs. But not Úlfur Úlfur. That's very different.